Home sales gain, still down from 2008

In the Springfield area real estate market, the numbers tell the tale.

Homes are selling, but at a significantly slower pace than a year ago. According to Springfield Multiple Listing Service data, there were 2,659 residential sales as of June, down 16 percent from 3,169 sales in the first six months of 2008, said Miles Noennig, 2009 president of the Greater Springfield Board of Realtors and chief administrative officer for Carol Jones, Realtors.

Noennig noted, however, that the data also reveals some positive news.

"Sales have increased every month this year month over month - not compared to prior years, but there's been an upward trend," Noennig said. The latest GSBOR figures show 610 units sold in July, up 117 percent from the 281 sold in January.

Sales prices for homes have showed some bright spots, too, Noennig said, as prices have increased every month between April and June.

The average selling price of homes as of July was about $135,018, which was up 6.7 percent from April, Noennig said, and down 4.6 percent from about $142,500 a year ago.

"We sold 17 houses last month," said Rick Gardner, broker/agent with Keller Williams Realty and leader of Keller Williams' Home Gardners team in Ozark. "It wasn't typical, but I find that the market is very strong in and around Springfield if things are priced right."

Greene County Recorder of Deeds Linda Montgomery said the number of warranty deeds filed rose every month from January through June before declining in July and August.

A total of 4,258 warranty deeds have been filed in 2009, compared to 5,089 for the same period a year ago.

Deeds of trust, on the other hand, are up from a year ago - 9,150 through August versus 8,971 for the same period in 2008.

"Warranty deeds mean people are buying houses and deeds of trust mean people are taking out mortgages on houses," Montgomery said.

"When the number of mortgages exceeds the number of warranty deeds, that tells me a lot of people are refinancing - they're not buying a house, they're just refinancing the existing mortgage," she added.

But refinancing activity appeared to peak in June with 1,448 deeds of trust filed, declining to only 1,006 in August, as of 2 p.m. Aug. 31.

"There are lots of signs of recovery and rebound, but it's like two steps forward and one step back," Noennig said. "We see encouraging signs and numbers one week, and then it's like somebody's tugging on the reins a bit."

What's driving sales?

A motivating force for many sales is the federal housing stimulus, which provides a tax credit of up to $8,000 for first-time home buyers.

"I'm seeing things start to pick up," said Aaron Wilken, broker/agent with Wilken Realtors LLC. "I think that the $8,000 tax credit helps the whole market go, because you've got the people selling, and then they're buying a new (home)."

The tax credit's been particularly significant for homes priced at $80,000 and below where the credit has the greatest impact, Noennig said, and Gardner added that he sees a lot of interest in the tax credit among buyers in the $150,000-and-under market.

The tax credit will expire Nov. 30, which means buyers probably need to purchase by Oct. 1 to get everything done in time to qualify, Gardner said.

He wishes, however, that the government had done a better job of promoting the tax credit. As it is, he said, Realtors and lenders are doing a lot of education among first-time buyers to let them know there's "free money" out there.

Making sure buyers know about the tax credit isn't the only thing keeping Realtors busy, as Gardner said there are plenty of foreclosures and short sales - when lenders agree to accept less than what's owed on a mortgage - in the market.

Realtor Ethel Curbow of Coldwell Banker Vanguard Realtors said a positive impact from improving real estate conditions elsewhere also has created an uptick in local home sales.

Many places were hit harder by the economic downturn than Springfield was, but Springfield was affected because the economy made it difficult - or unpalatable - for homeowners in hard-hit communities to sell their existing properties and move here.

"I think the thing that we've missed, that I'm seeing a little bit more of, are the out-of-town people," she said.

Market shifts

There's a lot of activity in the market, Curbow said.

Buyers are on the hunt for steals and deals, she said, which doesn't always bode well for sellers.

"There's a wide gap between what the seller wants and what the buyer wants to pay right now," Curbow added.

Gardner agreed, noting that homes are selling, but not for owners who still cling to the ghost of vanished equity.

In many cases, people who think they can get what they paid for their home three or four years ago are in denial, Gardner said.

The market also has changed buyers' goals and motivation, Curbow said.

While the trend in home sales in recent years was move-up sales - buyers purchasing more expensive homes with more square footage and more amenities - the trend now is to move down, Curbow said.

"Everybody wants to move down," she said. "Everybody wants a smaller house, less price; that's what I see here locally."

Wilken said he's been working with his agents to make sure properties are listed at the correct listing price based on market conditions.

"If you list it at the right price, it will sell for close to that," he said.

On the other hand, while buyers can get some great values, especially with foreclosed or short sale properties, distress sales aren't necessarily giveaways.

Banks are well aware of the value of what they have, and buyers who think they can lowball an offer - for example, trying to buy a property for half its listing price - will be disappointed, Wilken added.

Noennig said there's no question the market has been through a significant correction, and in the early part of the decade, things went a little wild with double-digit sales increases and large gains in home sales prices.

"I think this correction has basically reminded everybody that 3 (percent) to 5 percent increases on an annual basis, there's nothing wrong with that," Noennig said.